Channel 4 has come under fire for 'glorifying shoplifters and drug addicts' in the latest episode of its controversial programme Skint.

The second series of the show - which has been labelled 'poverty porn' by critics - is set in one of Britain's most deprived areas, East Marsh in Grimsby, once the largest fishing port in the world.

But since the collapse of the industry, the area has been plunged into unemployment, and the documentary claims to follow the lives of fishermen out of work after a lifetime at sea, and people doing 'whatever they can to make ends meet'.

Last night's episode, however, sparked fury with viewers after it showed a jobless drug-addicted couple shoplifting and trying to sell their furniture after they discovered their benefits would not be paid because they missed an appointment at the Job Centre.

Channel 4 has come under fire for glorifying 'shoplifters and drug addicts' in the latest episode of its controversial series Skint. Last night's episode saw one contributor stealing flowers for a funeral to order

Meanwhile, her boyfriend Will was shown donning a high-vis jacket and daubing himself with paint in order to convince shop staff he had just finished work, before heading off out, apprently to shoplift

Left with just 'six potato croquettes and two tins of soup in the cupboards' they instead steal for food and to feed their drug habit.

But Twitter users were quick to point out that the contributors were able to afford cans of alcohol and can be seen smoking on camera.

'Will' was seen donning a high-vis jacket and daubing himself with paint in order to convince people he had just finished work, before heading off out - apparently to shoplift.

His girlfriend is seen returning home laden with flowers after stealing them to order for a funeral.

The show has already faced controversy over one of its contributors - a woman called Kayleigh - who claims to have witnessed domestic violence as a child, and worked as a prostitute.

Her relatives said they asked the broadcaster to edit her contribution because of the possible impact the 'poverty porn' television could have on her children, the Guardian reports.

Twitter users were quick to point out that the show contributors were able to afford cans of alcohol and can be seen smoking on camera

Others said the programme left them feeling 'heartbroken' and more fortunate about their own situation

MP Austin Mitchell, the MP for the constituency of Grimsby, has also criticised Channel 4 for commissioning a second series of the the programme, accusing show-makers of 'poverty tourism' after the success of controversial but popular Benefits Street.

He accused the shows of 'concentrating hatred on the least well-educated' and the 'most deprived'.

The Labour MP told Radio Times magazine: 'Channel 4 has discovered that poverty tourism does more for ratings than celebrity culture, missions to explain or any highfalutin attempts to hold government to account,' he added.

'Kicking people when they're down (and gullible) is so much easier and less expensive than intelligent programming.

'Victims don't sue, and when do-gooders complain, they can always be accused of wanting to censor serious seekers after truth. So we get a proliferation of misery telly and programmes like Benefits Street, Immigration Street and Skint.'

The show also follows the touching story of former trawlerman Jeff, his partner Becky and their family who can be seen fundraising for a local hospice in the show

It also features Rev John Ellis, who has run the Shalom youth project on the East Marsh estate in Grimsby since 1972, and has defended the documentary

However, Rev John Ellis, who features in the series and has run the Shalom youth project on the East Marsh estate in Grimsby since 1972, defended the documentary.

He told Christian Today: 'We were very happy with the programme and the way we were portrayed in it. We looked at it very carefully before we decided to take part.'

He described the 'poverty porn' label as 'nonsense' and denied that the programme could be seen as entertainment at other people's expense.

'We have 45 per cent child poverty, 30 per cent pensioner poverty and 44 per cent lone families. It's appalling the way these people have been treated – there are more and more burdens on the community and they are reaching breaking point.'

Channel 4 insisted the programme highlights the reality of deprivation for many people in the UK, and gives a voice to those suffering the impact of long-term unemployment.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: 'In the last half century, Grimsby has faced the almost complete loss of its fishing industry on which the town depended.

'Nowhere has this loss been more harshly felt than in parts of the East Marsh. This sympathetic observational documentary, filmed over a year, allows individuals and families to tell their stories about living in one of Britain's most deprived areas and suffering the devastating effect of deindustrialisation.'